The "Tales of" Series

[Sylthia]

It seems like there's two different aspects of feeling rushed: story and gameplay. Some recent titles lean more towards one than the other.

[Shekinah]

I was going to say that Vesperia wasn't rushed, but it did feel really incomplete. I can't argue with the derpness that was the third act.

[Ulm11]

I was going to say that Vesperia wasn't rushed, but it did feel really incomplete. I can't argue with the derpness that was the third act.

Due to how horrible the last 1/3 or so of the story is I really hope that it was due to a rushed job and not the writers just running out of ideas.

[Sylthia]

Due to how horrible the last 1/3 or so of the story is I really hope that it was due to a rushed job and not the writers just running out of ideas.

I would have been forgivable if the enhanced edition for the PS3 fixed it, but from what I've heard it doesn't.

One thing I liked about Graces was the future arc which wrapped up a lot (but by no means all) of the loose ends.

[Demolator]

I kind of just stopped playing after I beat Alexei. I'm like "Okay, I beat the main bad guy, I'm done," mostly because everyone says the story falls apart in act 3 and I was getting pretty mad at how I never had enough skill points to equip the skills I wanted.

On another note, Sodia is a terrible person.

[Sylthia]

I kind of just stopped playing after I beat Alexei. I'm like "Okay, I beat the main bad guy, I'm done," mostly because everyone says the story falls apart in act 3 and I was getting pretty mad at how I never had enough skill points to equip the skills I wanted.

On another note, Sodia is a terrible person.

I'd still finish it for completion's sake. Sort of like a Trekkie will still watch the bad movies at least once.

[Mewtarthio]

Due to how horrible the last 1/3 or so of the story is I really hope that it was due to a rushed job and not the writers just running out of ideas.

There were a couple of earlier signs that they were running low on either time or money:

"All right, guys, let's approach the gigantic floating fortress!"
"Woah, we're really doing a great job dodging all those weapons and things!"
"Yes, indeed, a most exciting and action-packed aerial battle is certainly taking place just off-screen!"
"Your exclamations of shock and amazement are oddly informative! Why, if I were hypothetically unable to see this scene, I probably still wouldn't be missing out on anything at all!"

[Ulm11]

There were a couple of earlier signs that they were running low on either time or money:

"All right, guys, let's approach the gigantic floating fortress!"
"Woah, we're really doing a great job dodging all those weapons and things!"
"Yes, indeed, a most exciting and action-packed aerial battle is certainly taking place just off-screen!"
"Your exclamations of shock and amazement are oddly informative! Why, if I were hypothetically unable to see this scene, I probably still wouldn't be missing out on anything at all!"

Once the white haired pretty boys took over the plot everything went to hell.

[Airk]

I was going to say that Vesperia wasn't rushed, but it did feel really incomplete. I can't argue with the derpness that was the third act.

As people have pointed out, they're pretty much the same thing. If the plot fizzles in the third act and just gets dumb, the options are:

A) The team didn't really have enough time to put together a 'real' third act and make it good
OR
B) They just somehow never had any ideas for how to wrap the game up and couldn't figure any out, so muddled along as best they could.

B seems extremely unlikely, so we are left with A, which is basically "We didn't have time to finish the game."

[Sylthia]

As people have pointed out, they're pretty much the same thing. If the plot fizzles in the third act and just gets dumb, the options are:

A) The team didn't really have enough time to put together a 'real' third act and make it good
OR
B) They just somehow never had any ideas for how to wrap the game up and couldn't figure any out, so muddled along as best they could.

B seems extremely unlikely, so we are left with A, which is basically "We didn't have time to finish the game."

Since the rerelease did nothing to fix those shortcomings, I'm leaning more towards B.

[Airk]

Since the rerelease did nothing to fix those shortcomings, I'm leaning more towards B.

I don't know. I don't think rereleases even GET story writers. I mean seriously. Does Patty even do anything in the plot? Does playable Flynn? The answer is apparently "no, they're just there for humor and the occasional character skit"

The "rerelease" was probably done on a shoestring budget, possibly with orders not to change anything too major. To my knowledge, Graces F is the ONLY time Namco has EVER attempted to 'fix the plot' with a rerelease, and even then, they didn't CHANGE anything as far as I know, they just...tacked on some stuff at the end.

I mean, seriously, it wouldn't have been HARD to make 3rd act Vesperia less stupid.

[Demolator]

I mean, seriously, it wouldn't have been HARD to make 3rd act Vesperia less stupid.

I hear Aspio gets destroyed or something and I'm very confused as to why Rita's still there at the end of the game.

[Airk]

I hear Aspio gets destroyed or something and I'm very confused as to why Rita's still there at the end of the game.

er, what? Still where?

[Sylthia]

I hear Aspio gets destroyed or something and I'm very confused as to why Rita's still there at the end of the game.

Palma Costa is destroyed in ToS, but it seems like it's back to normal in ToS2. I guess there's different degrees of destroyed. It takes quite a bit to wipe a town off the map.

[Shekinah]

I don't think the entirety of Palmacosta was destroyed. The docks and harbor definitely were, but I think the downtown/recreational area was spared, save for debris. Would have been nice to go in there anyway. We got to go into destroyed Luin, why not Palma?

[Sylthia]

I don't think the entirety of Palmacosta was destroyed. The docks and harbor definitely were, but I think the downtown/recreational area was spared, save for debris. Would have been nice to go in there anyway. We got to go into destroyed Luin, why not Palma?

Maybe it was just so they didn't have to code for another zone.

[Demolator]

Maybe it was just so they didn't have to code for another zone.

THEY DESTROYED PALMACOSTA?! WHEN?!

[Sylthia]

THEY DESTROYED PALMACOSTA?! WHEN?!

When the world tree goes crazy.

[Demolator]

When the world tree goes crazy.

Oh yeah...I don't know why, but I always forget about that part. Do you ever return to Palmacosta after that? I don't feel like I did.

[Shekinah]

Oh yeah...I don't know why, but I always forget about that part. Do you ever return to Palmacosta after that? I don't feel like I did.

Nope. You can't even enter it if you wanted to.

EDIT: I'm not correcting my grammar.

[Sylthia]

Nope. You can't even enter it if you wanted to.

EDIT: I'm not correcting my grammar.

Do we ever find out what happens to Neil or Chocolate's mom? They never really address it.

[Shekinah]

Do we ever find out what happens to Neil or Chocolate's mom? They never really address it.

Beats me. Come to think of it...

Spoiler

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It would really suck if Chocolate's mom died after we saved her, considering Lloyd and Genis killed her grandmother/saved her from a fate worse than death. Kinda makes the whole thing rather depressing.

[Sylthia]

Beats me. Come to think of it...

Spoiler

Show

It would really suck if Chocolate's mom died after we saved her, considering Lloyd and Genis killed her grandmother/saved her from a fate worse than death. Kinda makes the whole thing rather depressing.

I forget if they ever address it in the sequel. I've only played ToS2 once, so I don't remember it as well as most of the others.

[Shekinah]

I didn't play ToS2 at all, so beats me.

Oh, the new ToS game comes out this month, doesn't it? What day?

[Sylthia]

I didn't play ToS2 at all, so beats me.

Oh, the new ToS game comes out this month, doesn't it? What day?

February 25, I believe.

[Shekinah]

Decided to start a new playthrough of Legendia. It helps when dealing with the mess of pregnancy, since I don't have to worry about dealing with other people like I do in an MMO.

Grinding eres stones is still a pain, though.

[Sylthia]

Symphonia Chronicles finally gets released Tuesday. Unfortunately for me at least, that's my busiest day of the week. Hopefully, I'll be able to pick it up during lunch.

[Shekinah]

I decided to look at the Game Trailers comparison of graphics for ToS and ToS: Chronicles. The changes are subtle. The Barbie doll faces are still there, but they're a little less noticeable. The black lines around everyone's physical profiles are now gone and facial movements are smoother.

Also, you apparently get extra costumes if you have costumes for Graces and Xillia. I can't verify this yet, but either I or Rezzy will once we start playing.

[Sylthia]

Has anyone else picked up ToS:Chronicles?

We should start our new play through today. I wish I could transfer my new game plus over from my old GameCube save, but I guess that's a little much to ask for.

[Zevox]

I'm skipping it, personally. I still have the originals of both games, and see no reason to buy a new copy of them.